19-20 August 2010 - Playgroup Victoria

Keynote speakers
Concurrent workshops
Anne Stonehouse
Playgroup: What’s the point
The word play is used a lot to talk about
valuable ways for children to learn and is
highlighted in both the National Early Years
Learning Framework and the Victorian Early
Years Learning and Development Framework.
Understandings of play vary widely, and
sometimes play isn’t play.
Sometimes what children learn through play
isn’t what we would want them to learn. This
talk will consist of a look at what play is and
isn’t, its value and purposes in a supported
playgroup, how to encourage it, and what gets
in the way.
Anne Stonehouse AM was involved in
developing the National Early Years Learning
Framework and has written many resources
about young children. She has worked as
a consultant, editor, author, academic,
conference speaker and presenter of
professional development in Australia and
overseas over 35 years.
Anthony Semann
The importance of relatedness in playgroups
True partnerships bring strength to any
program and relationship but there lie
complexities and challenges in both
the formation and maintenance of these
partnerships. This keynote address will provide
insight into the importance of relatedness and
the diverse ways in which relationships can
become collaborative, sustainable and mutual.
Anthony Semann for the past 15 years has
worked as an educator, innovator and advocate
with a broad range of government, nongovernment
and private organisations. His
skills and expertise have seen him work with
organisations across Australia and overseas
including Columbia University, New York.
What began as a young teacher’s desire to
help individuals transform the quality of
their lives, relationships and values, led to
combining his skills and knowledge with
Colin Slattery and in 1999 founding Semann
and Slattery, a company committed to
transformative practices and philosophies.
Pre-conference panel discussion
B1 Making connections matter
Anthony Semann
The challenge of providing any programs to the
community is to ensure that those who need
them most are at the forefront of program
planning and delivery. Playgroups serve an
important role providing beneficial support to
families. It is timely to consider how programs
can support hard to reach or vulnerable
families. Marg Whalley suggests one way
forward is to rethink our approach to working
with families and perhaps see programs as
hard to reach. This approach throws many
challenges to playgroups. Join a panel of
experts to reflect on how we work in respectful
ways with families and share some strategies
to help others on their journey.
C1 Harmony in the west
Denise Jones and Kate Hills
Isis Primary Care
This workshop will explore the work that has
been done with newly arrived migrant and
refugee community members in Brimbank to
facilitate a culturally appropriate and needs
specific playgroup. The benefits that have come
from this include mixing cultural groups, using
community leaders to help with facilitation,
supporting participants to improve their
health and wellbeing, connecting participants
with the wider community, and promoting
behaviours conducive to positive child
development. Case studies will be presented
that reflect challenges faced when working
with newly arrived community members in a
disadvantaged area and benefits the playgroup
has brought to participants’ lives.
C2 Connecting through
creative arts-play
Sue van Wyk
Bentleigh Bayside Community Health
In this workshop, Sue van Wyk will discuss
the experiences of facilitating Yumi Supported
Playgroups (Yumi: a place of beauty),
playgroups for mothers with post natal
depression and anxiety. She will explain how
a creative arts-play based approach is used
to engage mothers at playgroup and how
partnerships between Glen Eira Maternal
and Child Health and Moongala Women’s
Community House have been instrumental in
establishing the playgroups.
C3 Koorie Kids Family Playgroups
Cindy-Lee Hunter Harper,
Sharon Blow and Jedda Charles
Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Association
(VACCA)
Presenters of this workshop will discuss
the way support and links to Indigenous and
mainstream services are provided through
Koorie Kids Family Playgroups to families who
may be reluctant to use universal services and
whose needs are often complex. Discussed
as well will be how sense of community that
strengthens parents’ Indigenous identity is
slowly built through using everyday activities.
C4 Apples come from trees:
gardening with children
Pattie Morgan
The Playgrounds & Recreation
Association of Victoria
Sue Ellis
City of Greater Geelong
This session will cover the practicalities
and potential of gardening with children to
promote learning about sustainable practices,
food sources, seasons, plant and animal life,
and how to help develop physical, sensory,
social and language skills. As well, there
will be an exploration of how gardening can
facilitate greater family and community
involvement in children’s services through
shared garden work. A success story will be
discussed that demonstrates how gardening
has been integrated into a supported
playgroup program.
C5 Together we play and grow
Jan McCaffrey and Doris Wong
City of Greater Dandenong
Explored at this workshop will be the
importance, benefits and challenges of
partnerships with agencies that auspice
supported playgroups, playgroup facilitators,
children and families and supporting agencies
such as libraries and health services.
Presenters will explain the process of
engaging agencies, facilitators and families,
and the outcomes of these partnerships for
families and agencies.